D.O.G.E employees all resign in defense of federal system integrity

In a hilarious and ironic turn of events, a full walkout of twenty-one civil service employees rocked the Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) on Tuesday, as workers cited political interference, mass firings, and threats to federal integrity as reasons for their sudden departure.

The group, made up of engineers, product managers, and designers, submitted a joint resignation letter posted on WetheBuilders.org, saying that they refused to participate in the dismantling of essential public services.

The letter, addressed to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, accused D.O.G.E. of “compromising core government systems”, removing technical experts without warning, and creating a hostile work environment under the leadership of Elon Musk.

“We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations,” the letter read. “However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments at the United States D.O.G.E. Service.”

A source familiar with the letter confirmed its authenticity to NBC News, though the employees who wrote it remained anonymous. Instead of names, they signed off with their job titles, signaling that the entire tech and operations backbone of D.O.G.E. had just walked out.

Musk’s takeover sparks backlash inside federal agencies

The resignation follows Musk’s controversial takeover of the U.S. Digital Service (USDS), the agency that was originally created under Barack Obama to modernize government tech. After Donald Trump’s executive order, USDS was rebranded as D.O.G.E., with Musk given free rein to slash government operations under the banner of efficiency.

The first signs of internal chaos appeared on January 21, just a day after Trump’s inauguration, when D.O.G.E. staff reported being questioned in 15-minute interviews by White House officials wearing visitor badges. According to the resignation letter, these mystery officials refused to identify themselves, grilled employees about their political views, and attempted to pit them against each other.

Less than a month later, on February 14, an anonymous email fired one-third of the agency overnight. These firings, the resigning employees wrote, removed experts working on Social Security, disaster relief, and tax filing systems, and jeopardized millions of Americans.

“DOGE seems to think ‘efficiency’ just means doing less, no matter how good the return is,” said a former employee who had worked under both Obama and Trump. Speaking to NBC News, they described the agency’s shift under Musk as “scorched earth”, saying it was forcing out people who actually knew how to fix government inefficiencies.

In response to the resignations, Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) and dismissed the departing workers as “Dem political holdovers.” He claimed they had refused to return to the office and would have been fired anyway.

“These were full remote workers who hung Trans flags from their workplaces,” D.O.G.E. employee Katie Miller posted on X, appearing to mock the resigning staff.

White House avoids questions as Republican lawmakers push back

Despite Musk’s public statements, officials inside the Trump administration have been unusually tight-lipped about who is actually in charge of D.O.G.E. During a press briefing on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt repeatedly refused to name the agency’s administrator. After days of speculation, a White House official confirmed to CNBC that the acting head of D.O.G.E. is Amy Gleason—a former U.S. Digital Service official who had worked in the Trump administration’s first term.

Even within Republican circles, there is concern that Musk’s aggressive purging of federal workers is being carried out too recklessly.

“We need to do this with a scalpel, not a sledgehammer,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis told CNN, saying that while she supported efficiency, some of D.O.G.E.’s actions seemed too rash.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said any downsizing should be done in a “respectful way,” warning that a chaotic purge could hurt essential services.

“I’m all for trimming the government,” said Rep. Rich McCormick, after angry constituents confronted him at a town hall over mass terminations. “But we need to allow people to adjust their lifestyle.”

However, Trump’s fundraising team made it clear they had no intention of slowing down. A campaign email sent Tuesday highlighted Musk’s new employee policy, which required all federal workers to submit five accomplishments each week. The email then posed a poll to supporters, asking:

“Should Elon Musk and I FIRE anybody that doesn’t respond? YES or NO?”

Trump’s executive order faces lawsuits over Musk’s role

The legal status of Musk’s role at D.O.G.E. is also now being challenged in multiple lawsuits. While Trump has publicly credited Musk with leading the agency’s overhaul, legal filings tell a different story.

In a sworn statement on February 17, Office of Administration Director Joshua Fisher said that Musk “is not an employee” of any government entity under D.O.G.E. and has “no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself”.

This contradiction became central in a federal lawsuit challenging the legality of D.O.G.E.’s actions. During a hearing on Monday, a Trump administration lawyer was unable to answer a judge’s questions about Musk’s official relationship to the agency.

Despite this, D.O.G.E. continues to operate under Musk’s influence, scrapping government contracts, eliminating jobs, and attempting to shut down entire federal agencies.

For now, the twenty-one employees who resigned say they had no choice but to walk away.

“We signed up to make the government more effective,” their letter read. “Instead, we are watching it be dismantled.”

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